The Pink Boxes
by emotionless-robot
Summary: A Valentine's fic in which Tai hates cherries, Izzy needs some Pepto-Bismol, and TK believes there is no safe place in the world anymore. Challenge fic.


This is a challenge I got from QueenGatomon/syedaabbas8. The guidelines were just explaining the pairings (which you will find out) and what phrase to use. I don't think I'm going to post them, but if someone wants me to, just to get a better idea of the challenge, I can. This is my first fic since school started (thankfully that nightmare is over for a couple of days :D) but I still hope the dreary mood I've been in lately hasn't affected my writing.

And just so everyone knows, in this fic, all the characters are in the same grade. It just worked out better that way.

Disclaimer on profile.

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It was a day for celebrating love and joy and chocolate. Streamers were hung in the festively decorated classrooms and random heart-shaped cut-outs were plastered to the walls of the school. Girls giggled and boys hid in the bathrooms. Love was in the air on this day, and there was NOTHING that could stop it.

_Valentine's Day._

Some people shuddered at the thought of what this special day meant (i.e. the boys concealed in the washrooms) while others embraced it with a great passion. Couples were formed on this "magical" day, whereas several hearts got broken coldly. Crushes were revealed and above all, chocolate was consumed by the pound.

In a small classroom on the second floor of the building, a group of friends sat at their assigned desks and waited impatiently as the teacher slowly got everything set up. Earlier that week, these classmates had each constructed a box. This box got decorated with sparkles, brightly coloured paper, stamps, stickers, and most importantly, their name. The teacher's idea of Valentine's Day fun was simple – make a card for your Valentine, and drop it in their box. It could be signed, unsigned, pink, red, square, round, home-made or bought. All were eager to find out who had put a card in their box. It was nearing the end of the day, and there wasn't much time left. Finally, the teacher gave them permission to look inside and discover who liked them as a bit more than a friend.

Joe took a quick peek inside. Empty. He felt slightly disappointed, but he hadn't expected any. It didn't matter anyways. The girl he liked wouldn't have been able to put one in his box, he knew that. He just hoped she held the same secret longing for him that he felt. _Hold on…_ Joe took a closer look at the contents of his box. A small piece of paper had been placed in there. He reached in, took it out, and read the brief note inside. There wasn't much – just the picture of a heart and a signature saying, "_Your Secret Valentine…_" Joe knew who it had to be right away. His love had sent him a note proclaiming their affection, and he would treasure it forever.

Sora's heart leaped with joy when she saw the card in her box. She really hoped it was from Matt. During the break at the beginning of the day, she had inconspicuously slid her hand over Matt's box, letting her heart-shaped card fall into his painted cube. She had been sweating and fretting all day long, hoping he put one in hers too. She opened the folded paper and frowned. This wasn't Matt's writing, it was Tai's.

Kari bounced in her seat as she snatched the Valentine's card out of her box with fervour. It just had to be from Davis, it HAD to. If it wasn't, she'd probably burst into tears at the thought of declaring her love for him and not having it returned. She stared at the well-drawn symbols of Light and Hope. _TK _had sent her a Valentine? What was this all about?

Tai watched his sister's face grow confused as she read out her card. Tai had already been through his. No one special like _Sora_ had given him one. A few of the stalker-ish girls in their class had taken it upon themselves to fill his box to the brim with paper flowers and little candies that said "I Love You" and tasted like cherries. Tai hated cherries.

Matt drooled at the sight of Mimi decked out in her pink attire, sucking on a lollipop with those red, red lips. He started to fall off his desk, but caught himself quickly and glanced around to make sure no one saw. _Of course they didn't see._ He reassured himself mentally. Sora's neat handwriting watched him from its place on his desk. He hadn't expected a card from _her_. He wasn't sure what to do about it, but he couldn't be concerned with that right now. Mimi was opening his card…

TK rushed out of the room, holding a hall pass. He couldn't stand the anticipation and anxiety. He knew it had been a dumb idea to make Kari that card. He had nearly missed his target when he had dropped it in earlier because of his shaking hands. He slammed against the bathroom door, throwing it open and stopped dead in his tracks. A group of scared-looking boys huddled in the far corner wearing identical faces of terror. _Is there no safe place in this school anymore? _He asked himself as he locked the stall door, securing his new hiding spot.

Izzy laid his head down on his desk gently, not wanting to disturb his upset stomach. He had given Mimi a computer-typed card filled with a poem he had written himself. Unfortunately, all that hard work made him hungry and the only thing he had eaten was chocolate. Dark chocolate, milk chocolate, but not white chocolate. White chocolate had no taste. And now he was paying for his binging with the deliciously tasting treat. Izzy groaned in pain as his stomach flip-flopped. Where was that Pepto-Bismol when you needed it?

Mimi's tongue swirled around the sucker as she examined her reflection in her hand-held mirror. She didn't bother opening her cards – there was time for that later. However, something shiny caught her eye. It was one of the cards. The entire thing was covered in glitter. She knew she was going to like this card.

Davis leaned back in his seat, relaxing after a long day of doing nothing. He hadn't made a card this year, opting instead to tell said person directly. It made more sense to him. However, he _had_ made a fake card, and planted it in Joe's box. He watched his spectacularly hatched plan unfold. Joe ate up his lie effortlessly and didn't doubt for a second that the card he had placed in there wasn't _actually _from his crush. Davis had noticed a certain guy's interest in the young teacher, and from there his genius plan came to him. Wouldn't it be hilarious if Joe thought he was getting a Valentine's card from the _teacher_ who he was _in love_ with? Davis chuckled humorously as he ripped apart his box, wanting to be rid of it, not noticing the forgotten card that fell out and softly floated to the ground.

Each person was either surprised by what they received, happy, or upset. Some girls cried in disappointment, some boys sulked in cowardice; not having the guts to show their feelings. At the very end of the day, after the final bell rang, a group of friends met up in the playground, like they did everyday. The tension and awkward silence was new though. No one dared look any one else in the eyes, in fear of either rejection or not knowing what to say. Only two were immune from this disease – Joe and Davis. Davis whistled happily and Joe stared off dreamily into space.

"So…" Tai said hesitantly. "Did everyone have a fun Valentine's Day?"

He obtained several glares from the rest of the pack and shut up.

"Hey, Joe?" Davis asked with his innocent face on.

"Yeah?" Joe said back airily.

"What about the teacher? She seems pretty attractive, don't you think?"

Joe froze, not believing his ears. Had Davis just tried to make a move on _his_ girl? He couldn't handle this.

"For your information, Davis," Joe began, "she is not available, so perhaps you could stop trying to "put the moves" on her. You haven't got a chance."

His snotty attitude irritated Davis, but he knew how to smooth things over.

"It's all good, Joe. I was just making an observation. I've got my eye on someone else."

This grabbed the attention of the assemblage of children. They stared expectantly at the over-confident male who psychologically prepared himself for his next move.

"Watch _this_." he said to Joe, before swooping in and planting a passionate kiss right on Mimi's lips.

Izzy and Matt gasped at his atrocious behaviour. The others were a little shocked, but their reaction was not quite as surprising as Mimi's. She latched on to Davis's shirt and pulled him closer. The two of them went at it for a bit before it got to be disturbing, and were consequentially left alone in the deserted playground on Valentine's Day.

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There you have it, ladies and gentlemen. Let me know what you think. Reviews are appreciated. Thanks.


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